Message from Dean Steven Matson:I am frequently asked about the impact of sequestration on graduate education. This is an important question and we do not have all the answers yet. I do, however, have some thoughts and predictions, and I share those with you here.

New York Times bestselling author and Carolina doctoral alumnus Dan Ariely gave the keynote address at the 2013 Doctoral Hooding Ceremony, asking new graduates, "What kind of future are you going to design?" Philip Berke (pictured above), a professor in the Department of City and Regional Planning, received The Graduate School's 2013 Faculty Award for Excellence in Doctoral Mentoring. View the full ceremony, Ariely's keynote address and learn more about this important recognition of doctoral student accomplishment.

Stephanie Baker received the 2013 Boka W. Hadzija Award for Distinguished University Service by a Graduate or Professional Student at the 15th Annual Graduate Student Recognition Celebration. Learn more about the hundreds of graduate and professional students who joined Stephanie in being recognized for their leadership, initiative and academic achievement.

Nathaniel Sharadin, philosophy, and Natalia Suit, anthropology, will start the new academic year with Charlotte W. Newcombe Doctoral Dissertation Fellowships – and the two UNC-Chapel Hill doctoral students were among only 22 nationwide to receive this prestigious award.

Forty-one students, including John Paul Balmonte, representing a wide variety of academic programs received Graduate Education Advancement Board Impact Awards for discoveries that are making an impact in North Carolina and beyond. Read more about promising advancements in cancer treatment, reduction of natural disaster risk and many other compelling challenges.

Elizabeth Robinson was a physics major who approached her choice of undergraduate electives with a sense of adventure. In the spring of her sophomore year, the Bowdoin College student selected an introductory archaeology course – and the rest is history (or, to be more specific, ancient history).

Have you added your "footprint" to our map? Or updated your information? Please do! The Tar Heel Footprints project received an Award of Excellence at the CASE (Council for Advancement and Support of Education) Southeast District III annual award ceremony earlier this year. Thanks for making this site a success – and for showing the world that Carolina graduate alumni leave an impact wherever they go.

Two University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill doctoral students have won second place in the National Science Foundation's Innovation in Graduate Education Challenge for presenting the Duke/UNC Scientists with Stories Project as a model of incorporating narrative-based science communication training into graduate education.